


Hypnosis

by almygdala



Category: Original Work
Genre: 311 Words, Animal Death, Blood, Deer, Emotional Manipulation, Flash Fiction, Gothic, Horror, Hunting, Mild Gore, Original Fiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Short Story, Southern Gothic, gun - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28434438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/almygdala/pseuds/almygdala





	Hypnosis

You went hunting for the first time, on a cold September night, with your grandfather. You were young, hardly twelve, and you held his old rifle with the pride of a man boasting of a few scars earned in a bar fight. There was an arrogance to the way you shouldered it, immortality in the resistance of the trigger as you squeezed. But you were just a boy. You did not yet know the significance of an empty casing, or the hypnotic dread of staring into the barrel of a gun like yours.  


Your grandfather took you out, anyway, into the woods just beyond the fields where the cows grazed. It was quiet, except for a light rain and the wet leaves beneath your boots. You struggled to keep pace with your grandfather; his focus was sharp, and never before had you seen him with such a severely grave expression. But he stopped you, and there she was, standing behind a fallen tree, not yet alerted. You were ordered to level your rifle, and you did so, in the center of her broad chest, as you were told. Your grandfather waited, then said fire; you hesitated, and this time it was a shout, an unignorable command. She turned to look, and you fired. Your grandfather dragged you to her body, and never before had you seen him so predatory. He commanded you, “Look at her, boy! Look at your work!” He shoved your hands onto her warm, bleeding body, and you began to cry. You could smell her blood, and soon you felt it, too. He craned your hands toward your face, and you wept at how red they were. “Aren’t you proud, son?” He shook you. “You’re a predator, boy, just like me and just like your daddy.” He forced you to your feet, and you faced him. “Everybody is.” 


End file.
